Jindal won't back down on 'no-go zone' comments

Bobby Jindal refused to apologize Wednesday for calling certain areas in Europe “no-go zones” due to influence from fundamentalist Muslims.

Appearing on Fox News’ “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” the Louisiana governor, who is eyeing a run for the presidency, reiterated recent comments he’d made in London and to CNN about supposed areas, where “women don’t feel comfortable going in without veils” and “where police are less likely to go in.”

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Over the past week, Fox News issued apologies after multiple commentators and hosts referred to various locations across Europe, including in France and Britain, as “no-go zones.” Pundit Steve Emerson, in particular, claimed that the British city of Birmingham was “totally Muslim, [a city] where non-Muslims simply don’t go in,” and that it had “Sharia courts” that enforce Islamic law.

Birmingham’s population is actually only around 22 percent Muslim. British Prime Minister David Cameron claimed that after hearing about the so-called no-go zones in Britain he “nearly choked on [his] porridge” and thought it was “April Fool’s Day.” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced that she is planning to sue Fox News.

When asked whether he would follow suit and apologize along with Fox News, Jindal, a Republican, clarified that he believed the network was forced to issue its mea culpa for calling entire cities “no-go zones,” whereas he was simply referring to specific areas.

The Louisiana Republican further said that there are “communities of people that don’t want to integrate” but instead have immigrated “to colonize, to overtake the culture.”

Jindal, who was born into a Hindu family but converted to Catholicism in his youth, has tried to appeal to the social conservative wing of the GOP as he’s laid the groundwork for a White House run.

Previously, Jindal told CNN that “the radical left absolutely wants to pretend like this problem’s not here.” On Wednesday, he tried to link denial of the problem in Europe to President Barack Obama’s reluctance to label the Paris attacks a product of radical Islam.

“I think it’s embarrassing that the president somehow some way doesn’t want to use the word ‘terrorist,’” Jindal said. “We’re at war with radical Islam whether he wants to call it that or not.”

After Cavuto noted the Louisiana governor’s potential 2016 ambitions, Jindal expounded upon a vision of immigration as complete assimilation. “It used to be politically correct to call us a melting pot,” Jindal lamented.

“We need to stop calling ourselves hyphenated Americans,” he said, adding that when his parents immigrated to the United States from India “they wanted us to be Americans.”